When I found out it was International Dog Day, I couldn’t resist. Y’all know I’m a sucker for a dog, so I thought we’d have a quick talk about them today. We all need happy things to think about and there’s not much of anything that makes us happier than our pups. 

Growing up, we had outside dogs. I didn’t really know many people who had dogs that actually lived inside their houses. It was more of a common thing then than it is now to just have a nice dog house in the backyard and everybody seemed happy with the arrangement- dog included. Daddy built ours. It was painted to match our house and had a shingled roof and a little front porch- the works. A dog really couldn’t ask for nicer accommodations. On cold nights, we’d make sure they had help to stay warm with extra hay or whatever was needed. There just wasn’t any way a dog was going to live in my mother’s house, the queen of clean. She, especially, was of the belief that animals should live outside where God intended.  

So, when Davis and I got married, we got two Bassett Hounds. I’d always wanted a Bassett as I’ve had an enduring soft spot for dogs with big ears as long as I can remember. They were sisters. Cleo and Maxine. Because of how I was raised, Cleo and Maxine had a lovely dog house in our nice fenced backyard and that’s where they stayed. Every now and then, I’d get the urge to bring them in for a little bit and I’d go get a blanket and spread it out on the floor to protect it from their rather enormous feet. They’d lie on the blanket and we’d love on them and then it was back outside they’d go. 

When the kids got a little older, we decided it was time to get a little dog for them. Cleo and Maxine were gone and we thought they needed to have a pet. That’s when we got our little Sugar- the dachshund with the traveling salesman chihuahua daddy. We’d just moved into our new house and I wasn’t planning on bringing a dog into it to live. I just wasn’t used to that concept. But, since she was so little, we put her small dog house in the garage right by the door so she’d stay warm and be safe at night. The kids would be like- “please, can Sugar come inside?” I’d say, “Ok, if you hold her and don’t put her down.” Then, it was- “ok, she can sleep in the laundry room in her kennel and go outside during the day.” Then it was- “ok, whatever.” Sugar lived out the remaining 95% of her life as an inside dog. God rest her sweet angel soul. I still can’t look at her picture without crying.

Ruby comes on the scene as our beloved rescued stray- the dog, who’d been actually living out in the elements all of her life and could’ve fared very well outdoors, came straight in as an inside dog. She had no earthly idea how to behave as an inside dog. We would’ve done just as well to go out and get a large zoo animal and bring it in to live with us. She was barbaric, I tell you, but we worked through our issues albeit rather slowly. 

So, we’ve gone from a dog house in the backyard to a dog house in the garage to a kennel in the laundry room to this.